Month: September 2013

As we count down to midnight Monday night and a possible government shutdown, remember that we are fighting over how to fund the government for only a few months. Not for a full fiscal year, but just until mid-October under a funding plan from Democrats and to mid-November from the …

As expected, the Senate on Friday approved a stop gap budget plan from Democrats that dropped Republican efforts to block money for the Obama health law, as a deal to avoid a government shutdown remained elusive in the halls of Congress. “I don’t know of anyone who wants to shutdown …

There is nothing new about sharp debate on the House and Senate floor. Usually though, it is between members of different parties. But on Thursday afternoon, the divisions among Republicans were showcased for all to see in an internal battle over a plan to fund the government. Reporters have been …

Looking for a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Senators agreed Wednesday night to officially start debate on a House-passed bill to fund the government, as Democrats offered a plan that would not include language to block funding for the Obama health law. “We’ll be back tomorrow hoping that we …

Despite sharp divisions over the best way to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate voted 100-0 on the first procedural vote related to a House-passed stop gap budget bill that would both keep the government running into mid-December and block money for the Obama health law. The vote came an …

With the clock ticking to open enrollment next week for those who need to buy health insurance, the Obama Administration today released detailed figures on how much it will cost to buy insurance in the new Obama health law exchanges. “Premiums before tax credits will be more than 16 percent …

After taking the floor at 2:41 pm on Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke through the night on the Senate floor, and just before sunrise in Washington, D.C., the effort now has given him the fifth longest speech in Senate history. With help from a series of Senators through …

With the start of open enrollment just one week away on October 1, staffers in the U.S. Senate are being told to hold off on signing up for health insurance coverage, as details of their coverage plan still hasn’t been finalized by federal officials. “IMPORTANT Health Insurance Information,” was the …

Even as the start of the work week in the Senate featured sharp exchanges and calls for action by both political parties, the seeds of a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown began to take shape – but was by no means a guarantee. “In the course of the …

In a detailed 96 page report, the U.S. Justice Department said the City of Atlanta may have mismanaged hundreds of thousands of dollars in “Weed and Seed” grants from 2007-2010, charging that government officials were unable to document how money was used, and in some cases never gave investigators any …